Right, I am no expert when it comes to Chinese food. Ever since I realised there was an alternative to the MSG neon food you get in a lot of places I have been fascinated. I have always been entranced by the bright red ducks hanging in the windows of the Chinese restaurants in Bayswater though have always been a bit wary of picking one and being disappointed as there is such a huge spectrum of varying quality in the Chinese food scene in London.
I had heard a lot recently about A Wong on Wilton Road in Victoria so decided to give it a go. I turned up with a good friend, a 6pm reservation and a truly atrocious hangover, I was hoping for something spicy and some dim sum and then heading off. What ended up happening was we went for the £38 eight course tasting menu and didn't end up leaving until 3 hours later. Consequentially, not having been prepared for this marathon meal, my phone battery died, so the pictures are minimal and crap.
The staff were very sweet they introduced the tasting menu explaining that the chef (Andrew Wong, LSE and Oxford student who gave up his economics headed career to take over his late father's restaurant) had been on a journey round China and had brought back what he felt were the highlights of the different provinces. I'll be honest, I can't really remember everything I was told so this is a slighty hazy overview
Step 1 Hong Kong. Three different, very decently sized, dim sum.... one, was filled with pork and prawn, with a little pork cracker on top, one had a vegetarian tapioca on top, and one had a citrus foam on it..... I can't be much more specific than that because I was so hungry I gobbled them down practically before the waitress had said what they were.
Next stop was.... I'm not actually sure where the inspiration was from but it was a tea smoked egg with fried strips of tofu, they almost looked like vermicelli noodles, the idea being it was like an egg sitting in its nest. There was incense brought over at the same time which played havoc with my hangover and I found a bit overpowering. We also had a slight problem as my friend doesn't eat runny yolk (her loss, I know) so we tried to remove it using chopsticks and a spoon which resulting in our egg going splat on the table Humpty Dumpty style, so I can't really comment on the egg..... the tofu was lovely and crispy and salty though.
Then it was the province best know for its vegetables so we had a mixed bowl of Chinese vegetables. This came with a shrimp butter and lots of tiny weeny little shrimps (I know shrimps are tiny weeny but they were still cute). There were some crispy, perhaps dehydrated and then dried circles of a vegetable which neither of us had any idea what it was but they provided a nice contrast in texture.
Next was the "fish course" which was 'poached Scottish razor clam with sea cucumber, pickled cucumber, vinegar tapioca and wind dried sausage'. For someone who doesn't really like seafood that much I really enjoyed this, and we were encouraged to swallow it in one (??!?!?! don't think those were there exact words) by tipping into our gobs with the shell. Photos stop here (I know right, gutting, they are so lovely and clear) because my phone died.
Sichuan was next with gong boa chicken with peanuts and rice which I was pretty nonplussed by. Was really hoping for big numbing chilli from the Sichaun peppers but I didn't really get any. Then was possibly my favourite course with beef in oyster sauce and big fat Chinese mushrooms. I get a little confused here though because there was spicy lovely aubergines served with the beef I think, but it was spicy so I'm wondering if maybe it was the chicken........ Regardless the beef was gorgeous. Honestly think it might well have been the nicest beef I've ever had. Then came Beijing with pineapple and chilli and a typically Beijing yoghurt, nice little touch was a little paper cover for the yoghurt with what I'm guessing was a pretend brand. Basically there was a little logo and lots of Chinese characters. Loved the pineapple and chilli but the yoghurt at this point in proceedings left me very stuffed! Lastly was a lychee granite with a sugar sphere which had a soft meringue and mango puree inside. By this point, I'll be honest, I was just waiting to finish but this was a lovely cooling cleansing finish to the meal. This was from a province beginning with F.
And there ended our journey through China!
Thanks for sticking with me through what is possibly the most un-informed write up of a meal I have ever read. Next time I will try harder but I was so overwhelmed what with the hangover and the surprise decision of ours to have a tasting menu that I wasn't really prepared for the onslaught of information!!!!!!!!!
Bearing in mind that to go to one of the new modern Chinese restaurants in London such as HKK, the latest Hakkasan outpost, or at 'Demon Chef' Alvin Leung's Bo you are looking at £48 (only offered at lunch, otherwise its 15 courses for £95) or £98 for ten (no sex on the beach edible condom at A Wong though....) for the tasting menu, I think that a restaurant like this showing these ingredients and attempting to start to educate the dining public on the differences between Chinese regional cuisine and for 8 (very decently sized) courses for £38 is damn good value. I had a fantastic evening with a good friend of mine and the service was swift, friendly and knowledgeable. I'm sure there are better restaurants, there always are, but I loved it and as I waddled off to Victoria I knew I would definitely be going back.
I had heard a lot recently about A Wong on Wilton Road in Victoria so decided to give it a go. I turned up with a good friend, a 6pm reservation and a truly atrocious hangover, I was hoping for something spicy and some dim sum and then heading off. What ended up happening was we went for the £38 eight course tasting menu and didn't end up leaving until 3 hours later. Consequentially, not having been prepared for this marathon meal, my phone battery died, so the pictures are minimal and crap.
The staff were very sweet they introduced the tasting menu explaining that the chef (Andrew Wong, LSE and Oxford student who gave up his economics headed career to take over his late father's restaurant) had been on a journey round China and had brought back what he felt were the highlights of the different provinces. I'll be honest, I can't really remember everything I was told so this is a slighty hazy overview
Step 1 Hong Kong. Three different, very decently sized, dim sum.... one, was filled with pork and prawn, with a little pork cracker on top, one had a vegetarian tapioca on top, and one had a citrus foam on it..... I can't be much more specific than that because I was so hungry I gobbled them down practically before the waitress had said what they were.
Next stop was.... I'm not actually sure where the inspiration was from but it was a tea smoked egg with fried strips of tofu, they almost looked like vermicelli noodles, the idea being it was like an egg sitting in its nest. There was incense brought over at the same time which played havoc with my hangover and I found a bit overpowering. We also had a slight problem as my friend doesn't eat runny yolk (her loss, I know) so we tried to remove it using chopsticks and a spoon which resulting in our egg going splat on the table Humpty Dumpty style, so I can't really comment on the egg..... the tofu was lovely and crispy and salty though.
Then it was the province best know for its vegetables so we had a mixed bowl of Chinese vegetables. This came with a shrimp butter and lots of tiny weeny little shrimps (I know shrimps are tiny weeny but they were still cute). There were some crispy, perhaps dehydrated and then dried circles of a vegetable which neither of us had any idea what it was but they provided a nice contrast in texture.
Next was the "fish course" which was 'poached Scottish razor clam with sea cucumber, pickled cucumber, vinegar tapioca and wind dried sausage'. For someone who doesn't really like seafood that much I really enjoyed this, and we were encouraged to swallow it in one (??!?!?! don't think those were there exact words) by tipping into our gobs with the shell. Photos stop here (I know right, gutting, they are so lovely and clear) because my phone died.
Sichuan was next with gong boa chicken with peanuts and rice which I was pretty nonplussed by. Was really hoping for big numbing chilli from the Sichaun peppers but I didn't really get any. Then was possibly my favourite course with beef in oyster sauce and big fat Chinese mushrooms. I get a little confused here though because there was spicy lovely aubergines served with the beef I think, but it was spicy so I'm wondering if maybe it was the chicken........ Regardless the beef was gorgeous. Honestly think it might well have been the nicest beef I've ever had. Then came Beijing with pineapple and chilli and a typically Beijing yoghurt, nice little touch was a little paper cover for the yoghurt with what I'm guessing was a pretend brand. Basically there was a little logo and lots of Chinese characters. Loved the pineapple and chilli but the yoghurt at this point in proceedings left me very stuffed! Lastly was a lychee granite with a sugar sphere which had a soft meringue and mango puree inside. By this point, I'll be honest, I was just waiting to finish but this was a lovely cooling cleansing finish to the meal. This was from a province beginning with F.
And there ended our journey through China!
Thanks for sticking with me through what is possibly the most un-informed write up of a meal I have ever read. Next time I will try harder but I was so overwhelmed what with the hangover and the surprise decision of ours to have a tasting menu that I wasn't really prepared for the onslaught of information!!!!!!!!!
Bearing in mind that to go to one of the new modern Chinese restaurants in London such as HKK, the latest Hakkasan outpost, or at 'Demon Chef' Alvin Leung's Bo you are looking at £48 (only offered at lunch, otherwise its 15 courses for £95) or £98 for ten (no sex on the beach edible condom at A Wong though....) for the tasting menu, I think that a restaurant like this showing these ingredients and attempting to start to educate the dining public on the differences between Chinese regional cuisine and for 8 (very decently sized) courses for £38 is damn good value. I had a fantastic evening with a good friend of mine and the service was swift, friendly and knowledgeable. I'm sure there are better restaurants, there always are, but I loved it and as I waddled off to Victoria I knew I would definitely be going back.
No comments:
Post a Comment